Kamala Harris' '2011 Hit-And-Run' Is Fake News Spread By Russia: Microsoft
NDTV
US Election 2024: "Russian influence operations initially struggled to pivot operations aimed at the Democratic campaign following President Biden's departure from the U.S. 2024 presidential race," a blog published on Tuesday by Microsoft said.
A false claim circulating on social media that Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris left a 13-year-old girl paralysed after an alleged hit-and-run in San Francisco in 2011 is the work of a covert Russian disinformation operation, according to new research by Microsoft.
Researchers found that the operation created a video, paid an actor to appear as the alleged victim, and spread the claim through a fake website for a non-existent San Francisco news outlet named "KBSF-TV". The Russian group responsible, which Microsoft dubs Storm-1516, is described as a Kremlin-aligned troll farm.
The discovery is a sign of Russia ramping up its foreign influence efforts ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election, Microsoft said.
